Land Conference facts for kids

The Land Conference was an important meeting held in Dublin, Ireland, from December 1902 to January 1903. It brought together tenant farmers (people who rented land) and their landlords (the owners of the land). For a long time, there had been a big conflict called the Land War over who owned and controlled land in Ireland. This conference aimed to find a peaceful solution. In a short time, everyone at the conference agreed on a plan. This plan suggested a huge program where farmers could buy their land from landlords. This idea became the basis for a very important law, the Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903. This law changed everything, making it possible for many Irish farmers to finally own the land they worked on, with financial help from the government.

What Was the Land War?

The Land War was a period of big disagreements and fights between landlords and tenant farmers in Ireland, mainly between 1877 and 1903. Farmers often felt that landlords charged too much rent or treated them unfairly.

• First Period (1877–1882): Times were tough with bad harvests and low prices for farm products. This led to the creation of groups like the Irish National Land League in 1879. Farmers held protests, refused to pay rent (called "no-rent campaigns"), and used "boycotting" (refusing to deal with landlords). The government tried to help with some laws, but many farmers still had problems.
• Second Period (1885–1892): More protests and rent strikes happened. New laws in 1885 and 1891 allowed some farmers to buy land, but these laws were difficult to use, so not many people benefited.
• Third Period (1898–1902): Around the turn of the century, farmers pushed even harder for the right to buy their land. Groups like the United Irish League (UIL) and an Ulster farmers' group led by T. W. Russell supported these demands. There was a strong feeling that the way landlords controlled land was unfair.

The government usually got involved to keep order, often supporting the landlords. However, by the end of the 1800s, it became clear that the old system needed to change. Many believed that farmers should own their land instead of just renting it.

Landlords Start the Talks

In 1902, the government official in charge of Ireland, George Wyndham, tried to pass a new law about land purchase. But this law wasn't good enough for the farmers. The UIL wanted stronger changes and started protesting against unfair rents.

Just as tensions were rising, a man named Captain John Shaw-Taylor, who was a landlord's son, wrote a letter to newspapers on September 2, 1902. He suggested a meeting between landlords and tenant representatives. He wrote that the "land war has raged fiercely and continuously," causing problems for business and creating "hatred and bitterness." He believed a simple, honest discussion could lead to a solution.

What made Shaw-Taylor's idea special was that George Wyndham quickly supported it. A group of moderate landlords then agreed to the idea and chose four people to represent them:

• The Earl of Dunraven
• The Earl of Mayo
• Colonel Sir Hutcheson Poë
• Colonel Sir Nugent Everard

Among these, the Earl of Dunraven became a key leader. He genuinely wanted to find a solution and was interested in improving things for Ireland.

Nationalists Set Their Conditions

Meanwhile, on the nationalist side (those who wanted more self-rule for Ireland), John Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, had already said he was open to talks. He even suggested that landlords might get better terms than they deserved from history.

After Shaw-Taylor's letter, which suggested William O'Brien, Redmond, Timothy Harrington, and T. W. Russell as farmer representatives, there was enough interest to bring everyone together. Shaw-Taylor talked with O'Brien and Redmond, and by September 19, both agreed to support the conference.

Dunraven and Redmond, as leaders of their groups, started working on a plan that would be fair to both landlords and tenants. They were hopeful that this cooperation would lead to new possibilities. O'Brien outlined his ideas for the agreement, suggesting a way to figure out how much farmers should pay and how much landlords should receive. He believed the government should pay a "bonus" to landlords to help bridge any gap. O'Brien felt that a new era of peace was beginning.

Quick Agreement Reached

The eight representatives finally met on December 20, 1902. Dunraven was the chairman, and Shaw-Taylor was the secretary. Redmond called the conference "the most significant episode in the public life of Ireland for the last century."

After only six meetings, they published a report on January 4, 1903. Everyone agreed to it. The report proposed a huge land purchase plan, very similar to O'Brien's ideas. Seven of the eight demands from the tenant farmers were fully accepted, and the eighth was settled with a compromise.

The main difference from earlier land laws was that this plan made selling land very attractive to both sides. The government would pay any "reasonable difference" between what it advanced and what it got back. This government help was seen as a way to give farmers a good start as new landowners.

This report became the foundation for the important Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903. For a brief moment, it seemed that the long-standing land dispute was solved, and Irish politics might become more peaceful and cooperative. William O'Brien praised the report, not just for its commitment to new laws, but also for the new way of doing politics it represented.

The whole of Ireland was now focused on the conference report, waiting for what would become a revolutionary law. Before the conference, Redmond and O'Brien had preached "unity" and "conciliation" (working together). Many nationalists, especially O'Brien, believed that ending landlordism would speed up the process of getting Home Rule (self-government for Ireland).

However, not everyone was happy. Archbishop Walsh of Dublin questioned some of the figures in the report. O'Brien argued back, but the debate ended when it became clear the government would pass the law based on the conference's ideas.

Initially, things looked good. The Irish Parliamentary Party and its leaders supported the conference and the future law. But soon, John Dillon, Redmond's deputy, became a strong opponent. Dillon was well known for hating landlords and believed the best way to deal with them was to make their lives difficult, not to talk with them. He was very suspicious of O'Brien's enthusiasm for the conference, and this disagreement would have big consequences later.

New Law Brings Change and Disagreement

George Wyndham introduced the new land bill on March 25, 1903. Compared to all previous attempts, this bill was bold, generous, and clever. It set prices for land and allowed the government to lend money to farmers, which they would repay over 68 and a half years. Landlords also received a 12% bonus to encourage sales. This bonus, paid from Irish taxes, upset some nationalists.

As the bill moved through Parliament, O'Brien became convinced that this "conference method" could lead to other social reforms and even get Unionists (those who wanted Ireland to remain part of the UK) to agree to some form of self-government. Timothy Michael Healy, who had been doubtful at first, became a strong supporter of the bill.

O'Brien was very active in the debates in Parliament, and his excitement grew. However, the deep disagreements within the nationalist movement became harder to hide. Dillon, Michael Davitt, and Thomas Sexton, along with Sexton's newspaper, the Freeman's Journal, strongly opposed working with landlords and the Conservative government. Redmond reported that Dillon was very against the bill, saying, "He does not want a reconciliation with landlords – or anything less than their being driven out of Ireland."

By May 7, the bill passed its second reading with a large majority. It was a personal victory for Wyndham. After minor changes by the House of Lords, the bill became law by mid-August.

Land sales immediately sped up. Before 1903, about £20 million had been used to buy 2.5 million acres. After the 1903 Act and a later one in 1909, this changed completely. By 1920, about £83 million had been used to transfer 9 million acres, with another 2 million acres pending. By 1914, 75% of tenant farmers were buying their land. In total, over 316,000 tenants bought their holdings, amounting to 11.5 million acres out of 20 million in the country.

The Wyndham Land Act helped the government support land purchase in Ireland through state loans. This was seen as a "healing measure" to solve the land problem.

Conference vs. Confrontation

Even though the 1903 Act led to huge sales of entire estates and was truly revolutionary, the opposition campaign led by Dillon, Davitt, and Sexton caused a lot of disappointment. They claimed it was a victory for landlords. The main question was: Should nationalists work with a minority of Irishmen whose political views were so different from theirs? Dillon and his supporters said no, but O'Brien said yes, pointing to the successful Land Conference as an example of future partnerships between nationalists and Unionists.

A few weeks after the Act passed, the fragile unity of the Irish Parliamentary Party was broken. John Dillon openly attacked the Land Act and its idea of bringing different groups together. This happened during a speech in Swinford, County Mayo. O'Brien, who strongly believed in working together, never forgave Dillon for this "Swinford revolt." It ended a close friendship that had lasted for many years. Arthur Griffith also criticized the Land Conference, calling it a "landlord swindle."

O'Brien tried to get his party leader, Redmond, to stop Dillon's opposition. But Redmond was afraid that a fight with Sexton, Dillon, and Davitt, who were respected veterans of the Land War, would split the party and end its unity. Dillon, on the other hand, had financial independence and support from Davitt and other political groups.

The Wider Impact

The Idea of Working Together Faces Challenges

William O'Brien was very upset by Dillon's attacks. In November 1903, he told Redmond he was leaving Parliament and public life. This was a big blow to the party. Many of its local branches closed down. O'Brien then spent many years opposing the main Parliamentary party. Although he briefly returned in 1908 to try the idea of working together again, he remained disappointed. He and Healy, once distant, became closer because they now shared a common enemy: the party. O'Brien later formed a new political group in 1909, the All-for-Ireland League, to challenge the party and promote the idea of national cooperation.

In 1917, when David Lloyd George and Redmond called the Irish Convention to try and get Ulster to agree to Home Rule, O'Brien refused to attend. He believed it wouldn't work with so many delegates. He suggested reducing the number to a dozen truly representative Irishmen, like at the Land Conference, but his idea was not accepted. As he predicted, the Convention ended in disagreement.

The Devolution Crisis of 1904–1905

The landlords who supported the Land Conference later formed the Irish Reform Association. Led by Dunraven, they explored O'Brien's idea of cooperation further. They looked into the possibility of giving Ireland limited local self-government, which gave O'Brien hope that a new era had begun where cooperation could replace protests as a way to achieve national goals.

With George Wyndham's involvement, these reformers produced reports in 1904 about a plan called "devolution"—meaning giving Ireland some limited powers to govern itself locally. It was also revealed that Sir Anthony MacDonnell, a high-ranking official in Ireland, was involved in the plan. This angered Ulster Unionists, who saw it as a political plot and were outraged that a permanent official would try to change Ireland's connection to Britain. MacDonnell claimed he had informed Wyndham, who hadn't paid much attention. When Unionists launched their attack in March 1905, Wyndham, who was already struggling, was forced to resign.

Nationalist leaders were surprised by these proposals. Redmond at first welcomed the devolution plan but then sided with Dillon, who was strongly against it. Dillon believed the Irish party was the only group that should push for self-government. He felt that accepting anything less than full self-government might delay it indefinitely. Instead, Redmond and Dillon focused on finding out where the Liberals stood on Home Rule for the upcoming general election.

The Dunraven group was unusual for their class, but for a time, combined with O'Brien's nationalism and Healy's practical approach, they created the Land Conference. This was one of the most significant attempts at cooperation between Unionists and Nationalists in the 20th century.

However, Dillon's strong opposition to any cooperation with landlords or opposing groups continued to influence Irish politics for many years.